Who we are?

Who we are?

The Center for Research and Extension in Social Innovations in the Public Sphere (NISP) is part of the public administration department and the public administration and society line of the graduate program in administration at UDESC/ESAG. In addition to research, its members promote, in an articulated way, extension and teaching actions.

The NISP focuses on studying and supporting collective actions that have been promoting social innovations in the public sphere (whether institutionalized or not). This includes initiatives coming from both the government, civil society and private companies, in addition to the new institutional arrangements that are built in the negotiated articulation between these actors to solve public problems.

In particular, we are interested in developing studies on initiatives – actions, organizations or networks – that promote social innovation or have an impact on policies and public problems. We seek to understand the influence of these experiences in terms of social innovation in the public arenas in which they operate and in fostering new styles of development.

Research lines


Social Innovation, Democracy and Sustainable Territorial Development

Purpose:
Understand public governance and the dynamics of democratic experimentation promoted by government, civil society and business actors and their impact on public policies and actions. Study ecosystems, initiatives and practices of social innovation, with a view to understanding their impact on public arenas. Monitor public research processes and co-construction of knowledge in living laboratories of social innovation and their contributions to public administration, to the strengthening of democracy and to the promotion of sustainability. Study development dynamics, exploring the perspectives of territoriality, sustainability and the interface between the rural and the urban. Study formal and non-formal methods and practices of political and democratic culture and education in cities.

Keywords: Democratic experimentation, Public Governance, Sustainable Territorial Development, Ecosystems of Social Innovation, Living Laboratories of Social Innovation, Political Education and Culture.

Civil Society, Social Innovation and Public Policy

Objective:
Carry out interdisciplinary studies on collective actions promoted by civil society and social and solidarity economy (SSE) actors, including social movements, associations, foundations and cooperatives. Understand the role of civil society in public policies and public action. Study the processes of democratic participation, involving the interaction between governmental and civil society actors and their consequences on public administration. Analyze the interface between civil society and government in public policies, its governance, political, normative and organizational aspects. It also covers research on evaluation of programs and/or public policies, with emphasis on the following themes: social innovation, territorial development and sustainability, social and solidarity economy, public governance and urban problems.

Keywords: Civil Society, Participation, Social Innovation, Public Policies, Public Action, City Management, Social and Solidarity Economy.

Epistemology, sociology of science in public administration and studies on scientific work in the field of public

Objective:
Carry out epistemological or sociological studies on practices and/or on scientific production and the generation of knowledge in the area of public administration. Promote theoretical and empirical research on the configuration and scientific practices of the field of public health in Brazil.

Keywords: Epistemology of public administration; Sociology of public administration science; Field of Publics in Brazil.